Pay for parking tickets or pay the consequences, according to ordinance under consideration

2011-11-16T23:34:32Z2011-11-17T00:48:15Z

(WMC-TV) - The longer you wait to pay a parking ticket, the more you will pay, according to an ordinance now under consideration by the Memphis City Council.

According to Memphis City Council member Shea Flinn, the city of Memphis loses $2 million in unpaid parking tickets each year.

"We are in a desperate need of revenue in this city," Flinn said. "We've taken our tax base to the limit and we need to look at other areas."

Two weeks from now, the Memphis City Council will take a final vote on a proposal to impose late fees on parking tickets.

"You're well served to pay on time, pay promptly and not let it drag out and try and run out the clock because the bill will get larger," Flinn said.

Flinn chairs the budget committee, but the ordinance is the brainchild of Councilman Edmund Ford, Junior. It says that you will pay a $20 late fee if you don't pay your parking ticket in 60 days, and $40 if the ticket remains unpaid 90 days.

"We're trying to bring this in line with other municipalities and make sure that people abide by the rules when it comes to parking even when it might be inconvenient for them," Flinn said.

If you think the late fee is just a piece of paper, perhaps you'll be motivated to pay your tickets on time, because the council is also voting on another ordinance to put boots on vehicles, if you have three unpaid parking tickets.

Boots immobilize automobiles, and to remove the boot it would cost $75. If you don't pay within a number of days, your booted car would be towed.

It all means that if a ticket goes unpaid, a person would ultimately be charged for the ticket, the late fee, the boot, a tow, and daily fees at an impound lot.